Treating shoulder pain

There are things you can do yourself to treat shoulder pain, including using painkillers such as ibuprofen, or ice packs to reduce inflammation and relieve pain. Avoiding activities that may aggravate your symptoms will also help.

Depending on the cause of your shoulder pain, you may need further treatment, such as:

Shoulder pain

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A physiotherapist explains what you can do to prevent and ease shoulder pain, and when to get help from an expert.

Media last reviewed: 20/05/2016

Next review due: 20/11/2018

Who is affected?

Shoulder disorders are fairly common: about three in 10 adults are affected by them at any one time.

Frozen shoulder and rotator cuff disorders are most common in middle-aged and older people. Shoulder instability and acromioclavicular joint disorders tend to affect younger people, particularly men who play:

sports that involve repetitive shoulder movements, such as overarm bowling or throwing

contact sports, such as rugby, where you may injure or fall on your shoulder